


The Secretary

by Full_Moon_Lover



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Office, Boss Harry, Boss/Employee Relationship, Harry is mean at first, M/M, Secretary Louis
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-15
Updated: 2013-08-15
Packaged: 2017-12-23 14:06:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,933
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/927383
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Full_Moon_Lover/pseuds/Full_Moon_Lover
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Louis Tomlinson gets a job as Harry Styles' secretary but it's nothing at all like he thought it would be. Harry is known for being a ruthless, inconsiderate, hateful bastard that doesn't take 'no' for an answer. He's fired more employees to be recorded in records. Although he's extremely successful, he also doesn't have much of a life - or a personality. All he knows is being angry. Louis is the complete opposite; full of life, playful, funny and kind. Is that going to be enough to break Harry's cold exterior?</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Secretary

**Author's Note:**

> This fanfiction was witten as a fill for a prompt on One Direction Kink Meme that you can find here: http://1dkinkmeme.livejournal.com/6856.html?thread=8880328#t8880328
> 
> Although written for a prompt on One Direction Kink Meme this fanfiction contains little to no smut. I really hope you like it!

Harry groaned at hearing the sound of his alarm clock at half past five in the morning. He slammed his hand on top of it, stopping its annoying sound then got out of bed, muttering darkly under his breath. Needless to say, Harry was not a morning person. 

He went to the bathroom and splashed cold water on his face, hoping it would wake him up. It did its job but Harry was still feeling very moody. Glaring at his reflection, Harry washed his teeth, fixed his hair then made his way to his room to start getting dressed. Harry’s mood took a turn for the worse when he couldn’t decide what suit to wear. When he looked at the clock Harry realized that if he didn’t leave his house soon, he was going to be late for work.

He ended up grabbing a random suit which he later realized he hated then hurried outside and got in his car without even getting a glass of juice for breakfast. To make matters worse for Harry, he got stuck in traffic and ended up arriving at work five minutes late. 

To others five minutes might not seem like a big deal but to Harry, who had fired fifteen of his employees for being late, it was the end of the world. Harry entered the complex he worked at and made his way to the elevator that would take him to his floor. Harry gritted his teeth together at hearing that stupid elevator music that always got on his nerves. Today was simply not his day. 

As soon as Harry had gotten out of the elevator he was approached by Danielle, a colleague of his and one of the very few people he could actually stand. Danielle was also one of the few people who wasn’t scared to stand up to Harry when he was being a little too harsh and she was also very nice which was why she had agreed to help Harry find a new secretary, the twenty first and hopefully last secretary Harry would need. 

“I found a new secretary for you Harry. His name is Louis Tomlinson; he’s twenty four and has quite a lot of experience doing secretarial work for another company. He had to leave the other company because he was in a car accident that rendered him incapable of going to work for four months and so he had to resign. Please, I’m begging you, don’t fire this one”, finished Danielle with pleading eyes. 

Harry simply rolled his eyes in response. “If he gets on my nerves he’ll be out of here faster than he can say his own name”, he said with a hard tone. “I do not tolerate brats which I’m pretty sure he’s going to be since he’s twenty four.”

Danielle looked close to slapping him in the face. “Harry, you’re twenty two! You do realize that by that statement you insulted yourself right?”

Harry simply rolled his eyes. “Yes but I’ve been in this business ever since I was a little boy watching my father. My father has been teaching me about this business ever since I was little so that when the time came I’d be able to take over from him and do a good job of it, exactly like I’m doing now. Now Danielle, if you’ll excuse me, I have a lot of work to do. Send in this new secretary as soon as he arrives and let’s make one thing absolutely clear, if he’s not here in the next ten minutes he can consider himself fired. He’s already fifteen minutes late”, Harry snapped and quickly walked to his office, slamming the door shut. 

Harry switched on his computer and was in the process of checking his email when he heard a knock on his door interrupting the silence in his office. “Come in”, he snapped. He looked up to see a young, handsome man opening the door. 

“I’m so sorry I’m late sir, traffic was a bitc- there was a lot of traffic”, hurried to say Louis. Harry narrowed his eyes at hearing the way this guy was talking. He had a strict policy about swearing in his presence while at work. It seemed as if this new secretary of his was determined to break all his rules before he even talked to him.

“Mr. Tomlinson right?” asked Harry in an emotionless tone. Harry saw him nod so he continued. “Mr. Tomlinson, you might have heard that I am very strict and I take rules very seriously so I think you’ll understand if I say that right now you’re not in my good books. You arrived twenty minutes late and you swore. You were hired as a secretary in a very serious company and not as a clown in a circus!” snapped Harry. “Sit down!”

Louis who had turned red in the face sat down in front of Harry. “I’m sorry about that sir. It’s been four months since I last attended work so I’m a little rusty. I was in a car accident so-“ 

“I didn’t ask to hear about your private life Mr. Tomlinson. Frankly, I couldn’t care less about what happened to you”, Harry was quick to say. “The reason I called you in my office today is so that I could see for myself what kind of person Danielle hired to be my secretary and I have to admit that I’m sorely disappointed. I expected better of her”, Harry said, insulting Louis right in his face. 

Harry was about to continue talking when Louis decided it was time for him to talk as well. If he was going to get fired he was going to be heard first. “Well, frankly I could care less about whether you’re disappointed or not. I ‘ve always taken my jobs very seriously sir and I’m not going to allow you to say otherwise. I’m sorry for arriving late today sir, it was my first time passing from this area and did not expect all this traffic. Now that I know I’ll make sure not to arrive late again. As for swearing, I’ll control myself”, finished Louis, desperately hoping he would not lose his job after only five minutes of having it.

Harry kept on looking at him, without uttering a single word. Louis was about to say something to break the tense silence but Harry beat him to it. “Here’s a list of everything you have to do and finish within the end of the day. If by the end of the day you won’t have done everything you will no longer be welcome here. Now go, I have a lot of work to do”, finished Harry.

Louis took the list from Harry’s hand and walked out of Harry’s office and into his own much smaller one next door. As soon as he was inside Louis let out a sigh of relief. He had heard a lot about Harry Styles from other people and no one had said good things about him. Some called him inconsiderate, others ruthless and one particular person also called him a hateful bastard. Louis had thought that they had all been exaggerating but as soon as he had arrived at the complex he realized they weren’t.

He had asked the secretary located near the entrance of the complex where he could find Harry Styles and she looked at him with pity in her eyes. “Are you Louis Tomlinson, his new assistant?” Her look of pity increased by a tenfold when he nodded. “You’ll find his office on the fourth floor. Ask for Danielle Peazer and she’ll show you. If I were you I wouldn’t bother though. You’re already ten minutes late so you’ll only be showing up to get fired.”

Louis had frowned at hearing that but paid her no mind. Instead, he took the elevator and arrived on the fourth floor. He managed to find Danielle Peazer, who had also looked at him with pity, and finally managed to make it in front of Harry Styles’ desk. 

Now that Louis had finally met him he could say that all the things that were said about Harry Styles were true. He really was a horrible person. As much as he already disliked him, Louis was determined to be extremely nice to him. His boss already disliked him for arriving late; he didn’t need to give him more of a reason to dislike him by being rude. Louis was about to take a look at the list given to him by Harry when he heard Harry’s voice coming from his telephone. 

“I have a meeting in five minutes which is expected to last for an hour. When I get back I expect to find a cup of black coffee with half a teaspoon of sugar and a sugar coated ring doughnut waiting for me on my desk. I don’t think I need to tell you that I want them both warm”, with that Harry ended the call leaving Louis looking at his phone in disbelief. 

“Is he kidding me?” muttered Louis to himself. When Louis had applied for the job he thought it’d be like the job he used to have before his accident; planning appointments for his superior, typing and printing documents, photocopying, scanning and other such things and not getting his superior coffee and doughnuts. 

With a huff, Louis got out of his chair, put on his jacket and hurried away to Starbucks so as to buy everything Harry had ordered.

*******

Louis was busy typing a document Harry had written in his list when he, once again, heard Harry’s voice coming out of the telephone. “Tomlinson, I want you in my office, right now!” Louis gulped loudly at hearing that then hurriedly stood up and made his way to Harry’s office.

He knocked once then opened the door. “Everything alright sir?” he asked in a happy tone, hoping it would calm Harry down if he had done anything wrong. Unfortunately, it had the opposite effect and Harry seemed to get even angrier.

“Alright?! I thought I made it absolutely clear that the coffee and the doughnut had to be warm but instead I got back here from a very stressful meeting and I couldn’t even enjoy a snack! Both the coffee and the doughnut were ice cold Tomlinson! How do you explain that?” demanded Harry in an angry tone.

Louis was finding it extremely hard to keep himself from rolling his eyes. He just couldn’t believe that his superior was really getting angry at him for a cold coffee and doughnut. “Well sir, you told me you’d be gone for an hour and I placed both coffee and doughnut on your desk ten minutes before you were due to return, still very much warm. It’s not my fault if you decided to take longer than an hour without warning me.”

If looks could kill, Louis would have been long dead by the look Harry was giving him. “Do you have any idea how much I want to tell you to pack your stuff and never come back? Unfortunately, I promised Danielle that I’d give you a week to prove yourself before I consider firing you. I can already tell that this is going to be a very long week. You do not talk back to me, got it?” snapped Harry.

This time Louis couldn’t stop himself from rolling his eyes. “You’re my boss not my mother. If you’re wrong than I’m not going to act as if you’re right. If you want warm coffee then warn me if you’re going to be late. If you want to be hard headed and decide not to warn me then you’ll get cold coffee. Your choice.” With that Louis left Harry’s office, his head held high, glad he had gotten the last word.

*******

It was nine o’ clock in the evening and Harry was still in his office working on a very important project that would determine whether they’ll get the contract for a partnership with another very important organization. Harry thought he was the only one who hadn’t left for home yet when he heard a knock on his door.

“Come in”, Harry said, a confused look on his face. Who could possibly still be here at this time of night? Harry felt even more confused when Louis entered his office. Usually secretaries never stayed longer than they were supposed to. “Tomlinson, what are you still doing here?”

Louis walked over to his desk and placed the list Harry had given him that morning on it. “Just finished everything on the list sir. I typed in that document about the savings and spending of the company, emailed the reminder of the meeting taking place tomorrow to all those who are required to attend and they have all replied to confirm and I also photocopied the papers in that file you left for me on my desk”, Louis finished, all in one breath. 

Harry was left staring at Louis. Maybe he wasn’t such a terrible secretary after all, not that Harry was about to tell him that. “Good. Expect another list tomorrow morning and please do arrive on time tomorrow”, ordered Harry and with that he went back to work on the project without even paying attention to whether Louis had left his office or not. 

“Actually sir, tomorrow I’ll have to arrive two hours late since I have an appointment at the hospital in the morning”, said Louis, already knowing that his boss was not going to be pleased with this piece of news. 

Harry freezed and slowly raised his head to look at Louis. “Today you arrived late on your first day of work and you expect me to give you two hours off tomorrow, on your second day of work?” snapped Harry in disbelieve. He was glad he hadn’t told Louis he was doing a good job or he would have had to take back his words. 

Louis winced at hearing Harry’s tone of voice. “Sir, I know it’s an inconvenience but I just can’t miss this appointment. I’ll just work an extra two hours in the evening to make up for it. Please sir I can’t not go, it’s really important”, pleaded Louis.

Harry rolled his eyes at that. “I need you in the morning Tomlinson not in the evening! I will not give you the two hours off and that’s final. Just arrange something with the hospital. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a lot of important work I have to finish and you’re interrupting me so please leave.”

Louis stared at Harry open mouthed. He could not believe that Harry had not allowed him two hours off so he could go to his hospital appointment. How was he supposed to arrange something with the hospital ten hours before his appointment was due? He had booked it three months ago! Louis was about to give Harry a piece of his mind when he remembered how much he needed this job so instead he clenched his fists tight, bit his lip to stop himself from talking then left Harry’s office and went home, trying to think of what he could tell the hospital so they’d be able to postpone the appointment to another day.

*******

Louis made sure to set his alarm clock an hour earlier than usual to make sure he wouldn’t arrive late to work this time. Louis had to admit that he was still angry at Harry for not giving him two hours off for the hospital appointment. He had called the hospital the night before to postpone and they had booked his appointment for the following month. 

Louis managed to arrive at the complex half an hour before he was supposed to start only to find a list already waiting for him on the desk courtesy of Harry. It was the list of the work he had to get done till the end of the day. With a look towards Harry’s office, Louis quietly got to work. 

Even though Louis saw Harry as a cruel and angry man, he couldn’t deny the fact that he found him extremely good looking. With his brown curly hair and bright green eyes, you’d have to be blind not to notice how good looking he truly was. If Louis didn’t know how truly horrible Harry’s character was he’d definitely be interested in his boss. 

Louis was so busy thinking about Harry that he didn’t notice said person, standing in front of his desk and tapping his foot on the ground impatiently. “Tomlinson!” snapped Harry when he got tired of waiting for Louis to notice him. Louis jumped a foot in the air when he heard Harry call out to him. He looked up and found Harry staring angrily at him.

“I want you to work on Sunday”, Harry said and with that started to walk back to his office. Louis frowned at hearing that and followed after Harry to tell him that no, he would not work on Sunday. He was expected to work from Monday to Friday and no one was about to tell him otherwise. 

Louis finally caught up with Harry and grabbed his hand. “I’m sorry sir but my working days are from Monday till the Friday. I am not expected to work on Sundays and so I will not work next Sunday”, Louis said in a determined voice. He was not about to let Harry Styles walk all over him like so many had done before him. He was determined to be nice to Harry not be his little puppet.

Harry glared at Louis but sighed. “What if I tell you that if you come to work on Sunday your salary will be doubled for that day? You’ll earn twice as much as you do on ant other usual day”, Harry said, knowing that Louis would accept. After all, who was stupid enough to decline a double salary for a day?

Louis stared at him bewildered. He would be getting double the salary he usually got on a normal day and all he had to do was come to work on Sunday? Louis wasn’t stupid. He knew that this was a good chance for him to make up for all the money he lost while he was not working because of his accident. With a sigh Louis agreed. “Fine. Shall I come in at the usual time?” 

Harry nodded. “Yes. We have a lot of work to do. Our company is working on a project that can get us a partnership with a very important company. There is a lot of work behind this project and all of the employees will have a part in it which means, you as well. You don’t have to do anything difficult. You’ll be in charge of emailing the draft of said project to the managers of the other company so that they can get an idea of what we’re working on, searching and booking a suitable caterer for a Christmas party we’ll be organizing where these managers will be invited and once I finish typing in the documents you’ll be in charge of printing them and emailing them. Is everything clear?”

Louis had to stop himself from gulping at hearing everything that Harry had just said. It’s not that he didn’t think he could do it. Louis knew he was more than capable of carrying out these jobs. What worried Louis was the pressure. He had heard other workers talking about this partnership and knew that it was very important. Everyone had been waiting for this chance for years and now that they finally had it, everyone was more than determined to get it. Louis was never one to work very well under pressure but he was determined to do his part in getting this partnership.

“Everything is clear. What will I be doing on Sunday though?” Louis asked, still confused on why he was required to come in for work on a Sunday. 

Harry avoided his eyes while answering him. “The company wants to receive the drafts of the project by no later than Sunday. I already have it written down but I need to type it in and I’m not going to be able to finish it before Sunday morning since I have other work I need to attend to. I need you to come in on Sunday so that I can give it to you as soon as I’m done typing it and you’ll be able to email it to the managers”, Harry said, feeling his face turn red.

Harry could not believe that he had left this for the last minute. He had been so busy with hiring new employees, showing them the ropes and taking care of other minor jobs in the company that he had forgotten all about typing in the draft of the project and only remembered when he got an email from the managers of the other company telling him that they expected to receive it by no later than Sunday. He had never felt so ashamed of himself as he did right now.

Louis realized what the problem was but didn’t comment on it knowing that it would only make Harry feel worse. Instead, he just promised to be on time on Sunday and went back to his office, not noticing someone hidden behind the door, already planning on ways to get Louis fired.

*******

On Sunday Louis was up bright and early, determined to get at work early so as to hopefully make a good impression on his not easily pleased boss.

When he arrived at work, Louis realised that him and Harry were the only ones at work. Louis found Harry already in his office, furiously typing away, hoping to finish the draft as soon as possible. Louis knocked on the door and entered without even waiting for Harry to reply. 

“What should I do while you finish up that draft?” Louis asked, not wanting to spend all day doing nothing while Harry typed away. He did not come in to work on a Sunday for nothing after all. 

Harry barely acknowledged Louis’ existence. “I left another list on your desk. It’s nothing major but at least you’ll have something to do instead of annoying me all day while I’m doing something important”, snapped Harry and Louis had to bite his lip to himself from telling Harry that he was being very rude to someone who had done him a favour by coming in to work on a Sunday. Instead, Louis left Harry’s office without another word and went to work on the list given to him by Harry.

*******

It was now eight o’clock in the evening and Louis had just finished doing everything that had been on the list. He hadn’t heard from Harry at all since he had talked to him in the morning and so Louis knew that he still hadn’t finished typing the draft.

Louis got up from his desk and walked to Harry’s office without even bothering to knock. He found him still typing away at his computer but Louis could see him dozing off. Louis tried to hide his smile at seeing Harry like this but was finding it difficult; he just looked too cute.

“How’s the draft coming up?” Louis asked in a loud and cheerful voice and almost burst out laughing at the way Harry jumped up on his seat, suddenly alert. “I hope you’re almost done since you look as if you’re about to fall asleep.”

Harry glared at him in response. “No, I’m not almost done. I’m barely half way done and I only have a few hours to finish it so as to send it! To make things worse I’m exhausted because I spent all of last night working on it. This is a disaster!” Harry rambled on, feeling a mix of emotions. He was tired, worried he wouldn’t finish it and angry at himself for leaving this for the last minute.

Harry sighed and rubbed his eyes. “You go ahead and go home”, Harry said, looking at Louis. “I’ll finish up in here and email everything to the managers. There’s no point in keeping you here all night just so you can email them. Go home and get some sleep, I’ll see you tomorrow.” With that, Harry turned back to his computer and started typing again. 

Louis didn’t like the look on Harry’s face. Harry always looked determined, firm and even a little angry. Louis didn’t really like these looks either but they were definitely better than the defeated look he was wearing right now. Louis couldn’t stop himself from feeling sorry for him. You didn’t have to be a genius to notice that Harry was absolutely exhausted. His eyes were red and Louis could clearly make out dark circles under his eyes. 

With a sigh Louis walked next to Harry and looked at the paper he was copying from then at the computer screen. “So you just have to type in everything that’s written on this paper?” Louis asked, pointing to the paper. Harry nodded even though Louis could clearly see that he wasn’t really paying any attention to him, too focused on typing.

Louis knew this was a bad idea and that he needed his sleep as well and shouldn’t get involved in this but he couldn’t just leave Harry like that. Harry might have been nothing but absolutely horrible to him but Louis had always been a good person, even towards people who did not deserve it. “Well, if all you need to do is type in whatever is on that paper then maybe I could do it for you? It won’t take me as long as it’ll probably take you since I’m not really that tired and you’ll be able to go home and get a little rest. Once I’m done with it I’ll email it”, offered Louis.

Harry’s head snapped up and he looked at Louis shocked. He could not understand why Louis was being so nice to him. How could he be so nice when he had been so horrible to him? Louis was offering to spend the night in the office doing something he was supposed to have done when Harry hadn’t even given him two hours off to go to a hospital appointment.

Louis saw Harry’s shocked face and gave him a small smile. “Go home and get some sleep Harry. I’ll handle this”, he said and then proceeded to pull Harry out of his chair and pushed him towards the door after handing him his suitcase and jacket. 

Harry was still looking shocked and right as he had arrived next to the door, he turned to Louis. “You really don’t have to do this you know?” he said, still confused at why Louis had offered to do this.

Louis simply rolled his eyes. “I know that. I’m not doing this because I have to; I’m doing it because I want to”. With that, Louis resumed pushing Harry out of the door and this time Harry didn’t stop him. He put on his jacket and slowly walked towards the elevators. 

“If you encounter any trouble give me a call, whatever the time and once you’re done email the draft to the email that’s written down on the top of the paper you’ll be copying from!” yelled Harry before the elevator doors closed and he was no longer seen. 

Louis made a small detour to the vending machine to buy himself a cup of coffee before he went back to Harry’s office and sat down in front of the computer. Sipping from his coffee, Louis prepared himself for a long night. 

He managed to finish typing in the whole draft at three o’clock in the morning. By the end he had managed to drink five cups of coffee and he could feel his eyes burning with tiredness. Coming in to work in a few hours was going to be hell. 

Louis saved the document in the pen drive that he found on Harry’s desk then he went to his office so as to send the email to the managers. He knew that Harry had a perfectly working email but Louis felt much more comfortable working on his computer. He loaded up the document and made sure to print a copy just in case which he left in his drawer. Louis then opened up his email, uploaded the document as an attachment and proceeded to send the document to the managers. 

Louis could have cried in relief at finally having finished the document and sent it. In no time at all, Louis had grabbed all his things and left his office to go home and finally get some very well deserved sleep. As soon as Louis arrived home he threw himself on his bed without even bothering to change his clothes and was asleep before his head even hit the pillow. 

*******

Louis groaned at hearing the sound of his alarm clock. To him it felt as if he had been asleep for only a few minutes even though he knew he had gotten about two and a half hours of sleep. With another groan, Louis turned around in his bed and turned off the alarm clock. Try as he might, he couldn’t find the strength he needed to get out of bed and start getting ready for work. 

After ten minutes, Louis finally decided it was time to get out of bed. Louis made his way to the bathroom and slowly started getting ready. He washed his teeth, washed his face and finally fixed his hair as best as he could while still half asleep. As soon as he was done fixing his hair he made his way back to his bedroom and started getting dressed. By the time he was done Louis knew that he was going to be late to work.

He hurried out of his apartment the minute he was done getting dressed and was soon at the complex he worked at. He got in the elevator and as soon as he arrived on his floor, he ran to Harry’s office only to find him already there. “I’m sorry I’m late sir. I’m afraid I overslept and I know that’s no excuse but-“

Harry was quick to interrupt his rambling. “Don’t worry about it. It’s alright, just don’t make a habit of it”. Louis stared at Harry, surprised that he had let him off the hook so easily. Louis smiled though when he realised that it was Harry’s way of thanking him for offering to finish up the document.

“I presume everything went well yesterday and you emailed the document to the managers right?” asked Harry and Louis quickly nodded. “Listen Louis”, started Harry, shocking Louis who had never heard Harry calling him by his first name. “I just wanted to thank you for what you did yesterday. You offered to stay late to finish that document so I could go get some sleep even though I’ve been nothing but mean to you and I couldn’t be more thankful.”

Louis smiled at him but didn’t say anything else. He was too surprised for words. He couldn’t believe Harry was actually thanking him. Louis had thought that excusing his coming in to work a little late was all Harry would do but he had surprised him yet again by actually thanking him. “Do you have any jobs for me today sir?” he asked, trying to change the subject so as to spare Harry any awkward silences. 

Harry nodded and handed him a list. “It’s nothing too big. Just some filing and printing. You’ll get a lot more to do once we get a reply from the managers since then you’ll have to start looking for a caterer for the Christmas party I mentioned last time, remember?” Louis nodded in confirmation then took the list from Harry and walked over to his office to start working on it. 

*******

Louis was in the middle of filing some papers when he heard Harry angrily shout outside of his office. Louis was very confused. It was true that Harry often got angry, sometimes at the smallest of things, but he never made a scene. When he fired someone he almost did it in the privacy of his office, not in the corridor where the vending machine was located and where everyone could hear everything from their offices. 

Louis was about to go back to filing the papers, since it was none of his business who Harry was yelling with, when he heard his name being called by Harry in a furious voice. With a gulp, because this was bound to end badly, Louis made his way out of his office and came face to face with a furious looking Harry. His hands were clenched in fists, his eyebrows were furrowed and his face was red. His anger only seemed to increase at seeing Louis and that’s when Louis realised that he was in big trouble.

“How dare you?!” yelled Harry, looking as if it was taking all the control he could muster not to punch Louis in the face. “I get it that you don’t like me but to try and ruin the company’s chance of getting that partnership? That’s just low Tomlinson!”

Louis stared at Harry dumbfounded. He had absolutely no idea what Harry was talking about. Ruin the company’s chances? He didn’t do anything of the sort. He had copied the draft and emailed it to the managers like Harry had told him to do. He might have been really tired but he knew he had done everything like he was supposed to. “Sir, what are you talking about?” he asked only to have Harry move his face extremely close to his. 

“Don’t act innocent Tomlinson! The managers of the other company told me that they received an email sent from me with some attachment of a monkey and text on it saying, “This is you!” Are you insane?! I just spent the last fifteen minutes on the phone trying to explain to them that it was just a mistake and that I wasn’t the one who sent that!” Harry yelled at Louis in anger.

Louis’ eyes widened at hearing that. “I swear I did no such thing! I spent till three o’clock in the morning typing in that draft and as soon as I finished it I saved it on the pen drive that was on your desk, went to my computer and emailed it to the managers from there”, explained Louis.

Harry laughed a humourless laugh. By now almost everyone had come out of their offices to look at the argument that was going on between Louis and Harry. “Save it Tomlinson. You wanted to ruin me and you almost succeeded. Thankfully, I managed to convince them that I wasn’t the one who sent them that email and they’ve given me another chance to send them the draft you, however, are fired”, snapped Harry.

Louis didn’t know what he was supposed to do. He couldn’t believe he had gotten fired after not even two weeks at his new job and for something he hadn’t even done. “But Harry you don’t understand, it wasn’t m-“

“Shut it Tomlinson! I want you packed and out of here by tonight and you’re not welcome here anymore. No one tries to make a fool out of me and gets away with it!” With that, Harry walked back into his office, slamming his door shut. Louis was left staring at the spot where Harry had been standing a few seconds before, having no idea what to do. Looking around him Louis felt his cheeks turn red at seeing all his colleagues staring at him as if he had grown a second head. 

Louis quickly made his way to what had been his office a few minutes before without looking at anyone, hoping to get this over with as soon as possible. He quickly threw the basic needs in his suitcase and left everything else where it was. In the two weeks he had worked here Louis had gotten quite close with his fellow colleague Niall Horan who was Liam Payne’s secretary, like him. Louis knew that Niall wouldn’t mind packing his stuff up for him and bringing it to his apartment. 

With a sigh, Louis looked around his office one last time before he opened the door and made to leave only to find everyone still there and apparently they were talking about what had happened between him and Harry. “He had no right to talk like that. He just jumped to conclusions and completely embarrassed poor Louis”, said Niall, who had immediately risen to Louis’ defense after he saw the way Harry had treated him. A lot of people muttered their agreement. 

“Let’s face it, Styles is just a ruthless bastard with no personality whatsoever who enjoys tormenting other people and thinks he’s better than everyone else”, muttered Zayn Malik, making sure his voice was low enough so that Harry would have no way of hearing him. 

Louis did not know why he felt anger boiling up in his stomach at hearing his colleagues talking about Harry like that. It’s not as if he didn’t deserve it after the way he had treated him and after he didn’t even listen to him when he accused him of trying to ruin the company’s chances of getting that partnership. Louis, however, did not think it was fair of them to insult him behind his back. If they had something to say about Harry they should just go and say it to his face and not behind his back. 

“Stop talking about him that way”, snapped Louis and suddenly everyone’s eyes was on him. “If you want to insult him like that at least have the decency to do it to his face and not behind his back. Talking about him like that behind his back is just low”.

“What’s low is the way he just fired you like that without even giving you a chance to explain and in front of everybody”, commented Zayn. Zayn words reminded him that, yes; he really had been fired over something he didn’t really do. Louis didn’t think he had ever felt so betrayed in his life. 

Instead of saying that he shrugged. “Well, there’s nothing I can do about it now”, he said, hoping his smile didn’t look as fake as he thought it was. With that Louis walked over to the elevator and while he was waiting for it to come up he turned to Niall. “Do you mind packing my stuff up and bringing it to my apartment when you’re not busy?” he asked and smiled when he received a nod in return. He heard the ding of the elevator to show it had arrived

He entered the elevator and was out of there without looking back once so as not to see all his colleagues staring at him. 

*******

It had been four days since Harry had fired Louis and in these four days he was even more irritable than usual. It could be because of the dirty looks he was constantly receiving or because of the fact that he had had to type the draft for the project all over again having even less time or it could have to do with the small fact that Harry couldn’t seem to stop thinking about Louis.

No matter how much he tried, he just couldn’t stop thinking about him. At first Harry thought it was because of his anger towards him but then he realised that it was because he had started falling for him. Harry couldn’t believe that he had finally fallen for someone and they thought it would be a nice thing to make a full of him. 

One of the reasons Harry had been so angry at Louis was because he had felt betrayed. He had been surprised yet very touched when Louis had actually offered to stay up all night and finish the draft just so that he could get a few hours of sleep. It had turned out to be all a plan against him. 

Harry was furiously typing away on his computer when he heard a knock on the door and he saw Danielle come in. Before he could even say a word, Danielle slammed a pack of papers on his desk. “You should take a look at those and then start beating yourself up at the horrible mistake you made”, she said with a frown. 

Harry looked at her confused then grabbed the papers and started looking at them. He could feel himself turn pale the more he read of them. It was the complete draft, done and written to the last detail. “Where did you find this?” Harry asked in a shaky voice.

“I found it in Louis’ old drawer when I was checking to see he had left nothing behind so the office will be empty for the new secretary you’re going to hire”, Danielle said getting straight the point. Harry couldn’t help but notice the hard tone she used. 

“Are you alright? You sound mad”, Harry asked, hoping that Danielle was not going to be another one of those people who gave him dirty looks. 

“No, I am not alright!” snapped Danielle. “You completely embarrassed a nice, kind person who for some reason even I can’t understand, liked you! You fired him in front of everyone and made a whole show out of it! You didn’t even give him a chance to explain himself. How does it feel Harry, to know you did all that to Louis when all along he was innocent?”

Harry had never felt so small. He knew Danielle was right; he had messed up terribly and for the first time in his life, he actually cared that he had fired someone who had no fault whatsoever. “If he had printed out a copy of the draft why didn’t he show it to me? And who did it if not Louis?” asked Harry, who was still confused about a lot of things. He acted as if he hadn’t heard Danielle saying that Louis liked him; it just wasn’t possible.

Danielle rolled her eyes. “As if you gave him a chance to tell you he had a copy of the draft. As for who did it, it’s something I’m working on finding out. All I know for now is that whoever it was knew that Louis was going to come in to work on Sunday. I’ll find out who did it, leave that to me. You, however, have to make it up to Louis.”

Harry raised his eyebrows at Danielle. “Make it up to him? I’ll just get Niall to call him and tell him he has his job back”, said Harry with a shrug. There wasn’t anything else to do. Harry had fired him and now he was giving him his job back. 

Danielle stared at him open mouthed. “That is low, even for you Harry. You completely embarrassed him in front of everyone and you’re not even going to call him yourself? You’re going to get Niall to do it for you?” she asked in disbelief. All the response she got from Harry was a nod. She rolled her eyes but didn’t say anything else on the matter. She knew that Harry would finally get what was coming to him. 

*******

Harry got out of his office and walked to Niall’s office. He went in without even bothering to knock and sat in front of Niall’s desk. “Did you call Louis like I asked you to?” Harry asked and got an answering nod. “Well? When’s he coming in?” 

Niall wouldn’t meet his eyes and he looked reluctant to talk to him. “Um…Louis told me to tell you to fuck off and to leave him alone. He also told me to tell you that he thinks you’re one of the biggest jerks he has ever had the displeasure of meeting and that he’s glad he doesn’t have to see your sour face ever again”, Niall finished, his face a bright shade of red. 

Harry just stared at him, shocked. “Please tell me that’s what you think of me and not what he really said”, Harry said in a hopeful voice. Harry just couldn’t believe that Louis would ever say such things. Louis had always been nice and kind to him, no matter what he said or did to him. 

Niall looked sheepishly at him. “I wish. He really did tell me to tell you that. He also told me to tell you that you’re a coward because you got someone else to call him instead of doing it yourself. That’s all really”, Niall said.

“So…he’s not coming back?” asked Harry in a small voice.

“Not until you apologise to him yourself”, Niall answered and Harry couldn’t stop the groan that came out of his mouth. Apologise? It had been years since Harry last apologized to someone; he never had any reason to. This was something completely new for him and he didn’t like it one bit. 

“Why should I be the one apologising? So what if I yelled at him a little in front of a few people? Compared to what I did to other people that is nothing”, argued Harry even though he knew his argument was stupid. He knew that he was in the wrong but that didn’t mean he was about to say it out loud. 

Niall rolled his eyes. “You’re right, because everyone who was on this damn floor is only a few people”, Niall said sarcastically. Harry was about to reply but Niall beat him to it. “Face it Harry, you messed up. You messed up and you need to fix it, a man’s career is on the line here so you best forget about your pride and apologise!” 

Harry knew Niall was right but instead of admitting that he got up and left Niall’s office without another word. He was not going to apologise, no matter what anyone said to him. It’s been years since Harry last apologized and he was not about to start doing it again.

*******

“Harry you have to apologise!” snapped Danielle. She rolled her eyes when she saw the determined look on Harry’s face; he was determined not to apologise. “It’s been a week since you fired him Harry and it’s been three days since you found out you made a huge mistake and you fired him for nothing. A normal person would have immediately done all he could to apologise, especially since you feel something for him and don’t you try to deny it!”

Harry was left gaping at Danielle. “You’re insane!” Harry said with a humourless laugh. “First of all, I’m not apologising and that’s final. Second of all, you must have really lost it if you think I’ve got feelings for him other than annoyance. Danielle, you of all people, know that I never get feelings for anyone. I haven’t dated someone in six years and I intend to keep it that way.”

Danielle only rolled her eyes again at hearing Harry say that. “Harry you’re a twenty two year old man with a complete lack of a social life. Don’t you think it’s time to change that? Louis is a lovely young man and you should give him a chance. I know that your job keeps you busy but it shouldn’t affect your life like this! I think it’s about time someone told you this Harry. You are a twenty two year old man with absolutely no personality. A relationship would do you good”, she finished, hoping she wasn’t risking her job by saying that. 

Harry glared at Danielle and then proceeded to take some calming breaths. Danielle was the only one who could talk to him like that without losing her job but today she had taken it a little too far and Harry found himself biting his tongue to keep from yelling insults at her. “I don’t give a damn about what you or other people think of me. Working here has been all I could ever think about since I was a little boy. Work is everything to me and if it means I don’t have a social life or that I don’t have relationships then so be it and for the last time Danielle, I have no interest whatsoever in Louis so stop saying that!”

Harry had stood up in the middle of his rant to walk in front of Danielle and face her and so he did not notice Louis standing in the doorway of his office after finally being convinced by Niall to come because Harry had something important to say to him. “I think Louis is just an annoying, good for nothing secretary who I have no feelings for, got it?” Harry frowned when he saw Danielle looking at something behind him with a guilty look on her face instead of facing him. “What is it?” he asked, turning around only to wish he hadn’t. 

Standing in his doorway, looking angry and also a little hurt, was Louis himself. Harry’s eyes widened at seeing him. What was he doing here? By what Niall had told him, he had made it pretty obvious that he had no intention of coming back so why was he here now? “What are you doing here?” asked Harry.

Louis only scoffed in response. “Niall convinced me to come. He said you had something to tell me. I’m glad I listened to him and came; at least now I know what you think of me. You know what Harry, you had your chance to say what you think about me so I think it’s only fair if I get the same chance. You are a cruel, ruthless, inconsiderate bastard who does not give a damn about other people and who obviously has trust issues.”

Harry knew that he deserved everything that Louis had just said but that didn’t mean it hurt him any less. What hurt the most was that Harry knew Louis was saying the truth. Everyone had been saying the same thing for ages and he had never cared but hearing Louis say the same words he had heard so many times before had a different effect on him. 

Harry turned to Danielle. “Would you mind leaving us alone for a while?” Harry knew that Danielle was not stupid. He knew that she’d understand that he had not been requesting but commanding and he was not disappointed. Danielle nodded and left his office, closing the door behind her. As soon as he was sure that Danielle was gone Harry turned back to look at Louis who was still glaring at him.

“You know I didn’t mean that”, Harry said with a sigh. “Well at least not all of it.” Harry hadn’t really meant the part where he said Louis was annoying and good for nothing but he hadn’t been lying when he said that he didn’t feel anything for Louis. Sure, he had been the first one to make Harry feel guilty for firing him but apart from that he felt absolutely nothing for him.

Louis’ glare only intensified. “Of course you didn’t mean it”, he said in a sarcastic tone. “You meant each and every word Harry. I can’t believe I let Niall convince me to come back. He said that you admitted you were wrong and that you realised it wasn’t me who changed that stupid draft and I was foolish enough to believe him. How could I even think that you could ever regret anything? You’re never wrong, no? And what drives me completely insane is the fact that no matter how bad you treat me; no matter how much you degrade me I still continue liking you!” With that Louis left Harry’s office, slamming the door behind him. 

Harry was left staring at his office door, not quite believing what Louis had just said. He shook himself out of his stupor and then ran out of his office. He saw Danielle and Niall talking and ran towards them. “Did you see where Louis went?” he asked, out of breath.

Danielle was the one who answered him. “I saw him few minutes ago getting into the elevator, he looked really angry, I wonder why”, she said sarcastically. Harry swore loudly but didn’t waste time in replying to Danielle. Instead, he ran towards the elevator and waited impatiently for it to arrive. When he saw that it was taking too long he decided that there was no other option than to take the stairs. By the time he had arrived at the ground floor Harry was out of breath. 

He looked around to see if Louis was still there but was not really surprised when he didn’t see him. Taking in a deep breath, Harry ran outside only to see Louis getting inside a car. “Tomlinson don’t get into that car!” he yelled and if he wasn’t so tired from having run down four flights of stairs he would have laughed at the dumfounded look on Louis’ face. 

It didn’t take him long to reach Louis, who was still looking as if he did not know what hit him. Whatever Harry had been meaning to say flew out the window the longer he kept looking at Louis. To him it seemed like hours of staring at him but it could have only been a few minutes. They might have only been a few minutes but Harry had finally admitted it. He had fell for Louis Tomlinson, the secretary who had arrived late on his very first day of work; the secretary who had offered the stay up all night at work to finish something that Harry should have finished himself even though Harry had been nothing but horrible to him. 

Harry looked down at Louis, who was still looking shocked and for the first time in his life, did something without thinking it over first; without thinking about the consequences. He leant down and gently placed his lips against Louis’. It could barely be classified as a kiss but to Harry, who had forgotten the last time he had kissed someone, it was everything. He pulled away to be able to get a good look at Louis’ reaction. 

Louis blinked a few times then leaned back in and kissed Harry, a proper kiss this time. He wrapped his arms around Harry’s neck and pulled him in closer. Harry could not believe that he was taking part in a very public make out session in front of the complex he worked in. Anyone could be looking at them right now but to his own surprise, Harry realised he did not care. He was too happy to care about what other people might think. 

To both of their disappointment, they had to break their kiss for air. “There’s still a lot we need to talk about”, murmured Harry against Louis’ lips but Louis cut him off with another kiss. 

“Later”, he whispered. With that Louis pushed Harry in the passenger seat of his car and then quickly got in the driver’s seat. “I’m taking you to my apartment”, Louis said and started the car without even giving Harry a chance to disagree.

They arrived at Louis’ apartment in record time and made their way inside. Louis wasted no time and immediately led Harry to his bedroom. “You know what’s about to happen right?” Louis muttered against Harry’s lips and Harry nodded nervously. Of course he knew what was about to happen. He might not have done anything like this in ages but he was not stupid. 

It wasn’t long before Harry and Louis found themselves naked in bed, enjoying each other presence to the fullest. 

*******

The next time Harry opened his eyes he was tangled up in the sheets, still naked with his head laying on Louis’ stomach. His whole body ached in a way it hadn’t in a long time and Harry had never felt happier. Louis was still fast asleep and Harry had to stop himself from cooing at how adorable he looked. Instead, he cuddled even closer to him and just listened to his breathing. 

It wasn’t long before Harry felt Louis stirring underneath him. Harry looked up in time to see Louis opening his eyes and look at him sleepily. “Hey”, whispered Louis in a raspy voice and Harry couldn’t contain his smile. Louis slowly sat up and made himself comfortable, his back against the headboard. “We need to talk”, he said in a serious voice. 

Harry bit his lip but didn’t argue. He knew that there was a lot that needed to be discussed mainly how all this had happened. One second they’d been arguing in Harry’s office and the next they were having sex in Louis’ bedroom. Harry knew that maybe they’d taken things a little too fast but he also knew that he didn’t regret it. It had been ages since Harry had felt as alive as he had while having sex with Louis. He had thrown away all his inhibitions and just lived in the moment and Harry couldn’t have been happier. To his disappointment, Louis didn’t seem so happy. 

“Look Harry, I’m not going to say that this was a mistake, because it wasn’t but it’s not going to happen again, not unless you want something more to happen from it. I’ve never been one to have a no strings attached relationship and I’m not about to start now”, Louis finished in a determined voice.

Harry couldn’t stop himself from sighing in relief. Of course he was interested in something more. As a matter of fact, sex hadn’t even crossed Harry’s mind when he had kissed Louis in the parking lot of the complex. He had just wanted to do something to show that he was falling for Louis. He looked up at Louis not knowing what to say without sounding too eager. In the end he just settled for, “I do want something to happen from it”. 

He purposely avoided Louis’ eyes while saying it, feeling embarrassed. Louis, however, was having none of it. He gently grabbed his chin and raised his head. “There’s nothing to be embarrassed about”, he said gently. “I want that too”. With that Louis leaned down and locked their lips together in a sweet yet passionate kiss and Harry was only too eager to respond. 

Louis placed his hand on Harry’s inner thigh and slowly started stroking it. Harry turned bright red at that, having forgotten that they were both naked under the bed sheets. Louis laughed at seeing Harry embarrassed like that. He was seeing a totally different side of Harry then he had been seeing at work.

Louis pulled Harry closer until he was sitting on his lap then proceeded to gently stroke all over Harry’s heated body, with their lips still connected together. He was just about to get to the good part when Harry pushed him away. “Does this mean you’re coming back to work as my secretary?” Harry asked hopefully.

Louis smirked at him. “You didn’t even have to ask. As if I could ever say no to someone with a body like yours”, he said then proceeded to show Harry just how much he liked his body.


End file.
